Call of Duty: Spec Ops
Call of Duty: Spec Ops is a first-person shooter developed by Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision. The thirteenth major installment in the Call of Duty series, the game was developed by Sledgehammer Games for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game was released on November 11, 2016, but a special edition titled the Day Zero Edition, which came with bonus in-game content, was released on November 10 for people who pre-ordered the game. Gameplay Campaign The campaign in Spec Ops is designed to support 4-player cooperative gameplay, allowing for bigger, more open level design and less corridor shooting. In addition, the player can customize their character's appearance and clothing. The campaign features its own progression system, featuring unlock tokens which must be used to acquire different weapons and gears as they progress through the campaign. The game features a "realistic" difficulty mode, in which players will get defeated if they are hit by one bullet. Multiplayer Zombies Plot Campaign Setting and characters Story Zombies Settings and characters Story Development Call of Duty: Spec Ops was the second to benefit under publisher Activision s four-year development cycle, the first being Call of Duty: Zero Day Battle. The cycle allows each of the development teams of the Call of Duty series (Infinity Ward, Treyarch, Sledgehammer Games, and Infantry Interactive) to develop games in a four-year timespan, as opposed to the two allowed previously. The Windows version of the game was developed in a collaboration with Raven Software. In regards to it, Raven's CTO Dwight Luetscher stated that they were trying to focus on the Windows platform, as well as the community, by responding to their needs for it to excel. The Windows version features several notable changes, including removal of controller aim assist and addition of sensitivity slider for aim-down-sights mechanic. All pre-orders excluding the PC version included access to the private beta, which was made available first on the PlayStation 4 from August 25–28, followed by a second week for both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One from September 1–4. The PC beta was announced as an open beta, and ran from September 29 – October 2 on Steam. Players who participated in the beta received the Beta Combat Pack for the full game, which contains a special in-game helmet, emblem and calling card. The game is available in three editions: Base Edition, Digital Deluxe Edition and the Pro Edition. The Pro Edition was sold exclusively at GameStop, with pre-orders of the game at GameStop also included a limited edition hat. Marketing Reveal In May 2016, the official Call of Duty website was updated with a scrambled image that was due to be revealed on May 4, 2016, but the trailer was leaked ahead of schedule on May 1 and then officially released soon after. The trailer revealed actor Jim Carrey as portraying a character in the game who resents democracy. The trailer contained a variety of futuristic technologies, including cloaking aircraft, twin-rotor drones, hover bikes, "spider" tanks, specialized weapons, powered exoskeletons, threat-detection grenades and gloves that allow their wearer to climb up walls. On June , 2016, E3 was opened with a new gameplay trailer for Spec Ops that showcased features such as swarms of drones resembling birds and infrared enemy identifiers. During the presentation, Xbox head Phil Spencer said that downloadable content for Advanced Warfare will be released first on Xbox Live in the same fashion as the previous games in the series. On July , 2016, Sledgehammer Games released a trailer showing a more in depth look into the main back story of the campaign side of the game. Within the last five seconds of the trailer a brief view of the multiplayer was shown, the first time multiplayer had been shown. Within it "score streaks" were visible which are returning from Black Ops III. Also shown was the new HUD which usually changes from each title. Downloadable Content A pre-order bonus was announced entitled 'Advanced Arsenal' which consists of a Custom Exoskeleton along with an EM1 Quantum & AK-12G weapon usable in multiplayer. An advertisement revealed that the collector's editions will include a bonus multiplayer map, "Atlas Gorge"; an Atlas Digital Content Pack, which includes two bonus weapons, a custom character helmet, a player card, five in-game "supply drops" and a single-player upgrade token. Also included is a season pass, granting players access to four post-release map packs. Additionally, all pre-orders would be upgraded to the "Day Zero Edition", which includes 24 hours early access to the game with double XP, additional weapons and in-game items. On November 3, 2016, Activision revealed 4 DLCs for Spec Ops, namely Havoc, Ascendance, Supremacy, and Reckoning. The Havoc DLC was released for PS4 on January 31, 2017 and PC and Xbox on March 2, 2017. It features one new Zombies map, and three new DLC weapons. The Ascendance DLC was released on for the PS4 and for Microsoft Windows and the Xbox One. The DLC includes 4 new maps, and a new grappling hook feature playlist. The third DLC of the game, Supremacy, was released on for the PS4. The DLC includes four new maps and act as a continuation to the Exo Zombies campaign. It was released for Microsoft Windows, and Xbox One on . The last DLC, Reckoning, was released for the PS4 on . It was released for the remaining platforms on Reception Pre-release Post-release Call of Duty: Spec Ops received "generally favorable reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic. Josh Harmon from Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game a 9/10. He praised the engaging combat mechanics, coherent story (which he described as "a welcome shift for Call of Duty"), new mobility options, as well as in-depth specialisation and the multiplayer, which he described as "The deepest, most enjoyable and the most skill-based Call of Duty multiplayer to date". He also praised the futuristic gadgetry which he described as "a feature that breathes new life into the franchise". However, he criticised the single-mission level design for being similar to the previous installments, as well as a predictable, disappointing plot twist, unimpressive co-operative mode and clumsy vehicle-involved single-player mission. 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